Careless Mistakes
by nine miles to go
Summary: Can Jason keep a secret?
1. Jason's Thanks

Yes, yes, the plot begins with the cliche "Jason-draws-a-picture" crap, but that's just an icebreaker. IT GETS MORE ORIGINAL. I SWEAR. :D

Disclaimer: I don't own Superman or anything affiliated wih it. Well, an action figure and some silly putty Kryptonite, but that aside, I own nothing.

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Chapter One: Jason's Thanks 

It had been exactly a week since Superman had woken from his coma. A week since he'd stood by Jason's side in his room, reciting the legacy that he would undoubtedly hold in his small hands one day. A week that had been spent writing article after article about Superman, Lex Luthor, the quake, the aftermath, and how the public was taking it. It had been pretty busy, that was certain. But he'd been outside Jason's window every night since, watching. Hoping.

He didn't know what he was hoping for. Hoping on a smaller level that Jason would wake up and talk to him? Or hoping on a level much greater that Lois would fall in love with Clark, Richard would find someone else, Clark could have his family and everyone would live happily ever after?

He sighed. He couldn't be selfish. Richard had been there first; it was his rightful place. Lois was right. Richard was a good man. No one, especially not the man who'd taken care of Lois while Clark had been away, deserved to be pushed out of their picture perfect life.

There was just no way for everything to be perfect. Somebody, in every scenario, would be burned, no matter how the cards played out. Besides, it's not as if Clark would ever be able to be around for Lois and Jason. He was Superman.

Superman waited another few minutes, watching the small boy sleep. It was shocking, his resemblance to Lois. His keenness at such a young age, aware of so much around him. A small smile played at the corner of his lips. Did he inherit anything from his father besides the powers? It might be better for him. Clark was…well, a little klutzy.

Finally he turned around and braced himself to fly into the night.

"Superman?"

Jason sat up in bed, his eyes wide and full of wonder. Slowly he shoved off his covers and tiptoed to the window, cocking his head as if to make sure the man of steel was truly outside.

Superman couldn't help but grin at him. "Hey," he said quietly, trying not to wake up Lois and Richard.

"I thought I saw you last night, but Mommy said I was dreaming," Jason whispered, his voice hardly concealing his excitement.

Superman hesitated. "You weren't. I like to check up on…" _My son, _he wanted to say. "…you, because…you're a good friend," he finally decided.

Jason smiled wide, and that's when Superman could see it. That wasn't Lois' famous smirk. That was the full-blown country boy grin that solely belonged to Clark.

"Mommy talks about you a lot. Were you good friends with her before you left?" Jason asked innocently. It was apparent that Lois hadn't told him of their history, and he wasn't going to be the one to tell the kid. Not without Lois' permission.

"Yes, I was very good friends with your mom. I'm still friends with her now," Superman said. "I missed her a lot when I left."

Jason nodded in understanding, his eyes already full of wisdom that Superman himself wasn't sure he acquired until he was an adult himself. He perked up a second later. "Wait. I made you something," Jason exclaimed eagerly.

Superman put his pointer finger to his mouth, reminding him to stay quiet. Jason imitated the motion, then opened the drawer on his nightstand, retrieving a piece of lined paper. He ran back up to the window and held out the paper for the hero, waiting anxiously for a response.

It took a moment for him to see, but it was a picture of a round window. Blue specks indicated the water; it was all dark for the exception of the window, where a childish drawing of Superman's face appeared, smiling.

"It's when you saved us from the boat," Jason explained. "I forgot to say thank you. Mommy said you already knew, but I just wanted to say it anyway."

"It's incredible," Superman said sincerely, hardly able to tear his eyes away from the boy that would never truly be his son. "I'll keep it forever. It…means more to me than you'll ever know."

Jason beamed.

"And thank you," Superman said to the five-year-old, "for saving me."

Something stirred down the hall. Jason twitched, having heard the slight noise himself. He had the same knack for hearing things that Superman had honed already. Yes, there was a lot of his father in him after all.

"You'd better leave. Mommy's up. She always gets a drink at night," Jason warned, backing up from the window towards his bed.

Superman nodded. "Thanks for the picture. See you later, Jason."

"Bye, Superman," Jason whispered in the tiniest of voices, a sound that only Superman himself could have heard, as the man of steel flew away into the night. Someone out there needed him now, as they would every other night.

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"You'd think they'd stuck a tracking device on that man, with all the reports coming through," one of Clark's coworkers noted while looking up at the television. "I mean, how are we supposed to write articles on a bajillion different places he's been in one night?"

Despite the complaints, though, Clark could tell that the man in the cubicle was happy nonetheless. Not only did the idea of Superman make everyone feel a little safer, it assured the journalism world that there was always _some _story to cover. Jimmy revealed to Clark that after the hysteria of Superman's disappearance blew over, there was virtually nothing to report on…hence, Lois' article winning a Pulitzer.

"Yeah, I know," Clark agreed amiably. "It's insane, isn't it? Which are you covering?"

"Flood in India. You?"

"Fires in California."

The man shook his head. "Long day, I guess," he whistled, getting back to work.

Clark took the free moment to peek through the walls of Lois' office. She was clearly in an interview with another woman, probably covering the unknown whereabouts of Lex Luthor again. "…leave Mommy for a sec, please? Daddy's getting coffee outside."

Clark watched the boy nod and race out energetically. "Now," Lois continued, "you said you were a relative of a woman whose will was…"

"Mr. Clark?"

The little voice came from behind him. A grin instantly spread on Clark's face, recognizing Jason immediately. "Hey, Jason. How are you?"

"Bored. Mommy's in a meeting," he informed Clark, looking over his shoulder at the computer screen. "How did the fire start?" he asked after a moment.

Clark knew by now that he shouldn't be surprised at the boy's level of understanding—most kids at his age couldn't even read the word 'fire,' let alone half of an article on it—but he found himself a little baffled nonetheless. "They don't know. The police think someone started it and it spread a lot."

"Oh," said Jason, still fixated on the screen. Then he turned back to Clark. "Hey, where's the coffee machine?" he asked, looking around the office.

"Right over there," Clark pointed, disappointed that his time with Jason was up. But Richard appeared to be sidetracked by Perry and was being pulled into the boardroom. "You want to hang with me until your parents are done?"

"Yeah," Jason said enthusiastically. "But Mommy says I have to be really quiet."

"I think I have some pens in my briefcase if you want to draw," Clark offered, remembering the boy's picture fresh in his mind. He was glad he knew at least _something _that the boy enjoyed. That and playing in the park. And egg rolls, of course.

"Which pocket?" Jason asked, starting to pry carefully into the briefcase, making sure its contents weren't disturbed.

"The front one," Clark replied, starting to write his article again. It was almost finished, but it was due in about fifteen minutes. Just another sentence or two to go, and—

"M-Mr. Clark?" Jason squeaked. "Where'd you get this?"

Clark looked up at the piece of paper clutched in the boy's shaking hands. "Oh, no," he muttered.

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Review, review, review! Especially cuz today's my birthday :D :D. I turn fifteen. SUCKERZZZZZZZ.


	2. An Invitation

Hey! It's been awhile, I know, but my documents are all gone. Read my bio if you want confirmation. Everything went kaput, so I'm B.S.ing everything. Meh, a freak's gotta do what a freak's gotta do. Anyway, thanks for everyone who wished me a happy birthday :D :D It made me happy. And here's chappie two.

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An Invitation

Jason's lower lip wavered, his eyebrows creased in a deep frown. "But…but I gave this to…" he trailed off, transfixed with the paper in his hands. He dropped it suddenly as if it were on fire, letting it slowly feather to the floor under Clark's desk. Childish eyes tentatively glanced up at Clark, full of question, starting to water.

"I…I don't know where that came from," Clark lied, fumbling with his words. "It…just appeared there." He swallowed hard, trying not to break the eye contact. Kids, if anything, were even more perceptive when it came to lying and human nature. But he couldn't help it. He looked away, averting his attention to the computer screen. "Have you seen it before?" he managed to ask.

Jason nodded. "But…" He was clearly distressed, looking to Clark for answers. "Are you…?"

Clark cleared his throat. "Lois," he greeted his coworker as she approached, feeling himself start to sweat. If Jason blew his cover, there would be no going back. He highly doubted that a nice smooch on the lips to erase memories wouldn't work on Jason, for more reasons besides his parentage, and kissing Lois was out of the question. "How'd your interview go?"

Lois rolled her eyes. "I could've gotten the same answers from a fortune cookie, she was so vague. People keep claiming to know where Luthor is because of the reward money. I told Perry it was a bad idea, but he doesn't seem to care how long it takes to interview every crackpot in the city."

"I'm sorry," Clark said distractedly, eyes flitting down to Jason. The five-year-old was completely silent, still staring at the picture on the floor.

"Hey, honey, what's up?" asked Lois, bending down to Jason's eye level.

Jason bit his lip, the mental battle obviously working itself out in his brain. "I dreamed about Superman last night," he mentioned quietly, his voice small and sad.

Clark took a deep breath. Either Jason was fooled, or he was covering. Both scenarios worked to his advantage. But was Jason that great of an actor, to fool his mother? Maybe he really did believe he'd dreamt the whole meeting up. And Clark wanted to be close to Jason, even if it meant through Superman.

"Really, honey? What happened?" she asked, grinning up at Clark conspiratorially.

For a moment Clark was stunned at her acknowledgement of him, but then he smiled back easily. For the first time in weeks, he hadn't had to force a smile as Clark Kent. It felt pretty good.

"…I can't remember," Jason replied, tearing his eyes off the paper on the floor. "I thought he was there, though."

"Well, we know that he's always around," Lois assured him, patting him on the back. "He's very busy, you know."

Clark nodded in agreement, trying to squash the feeling of longing that rose in his chest. _Yes, Jason, I am Superman. I didn't want to lie, but…I wanted you to be safe…and—_

"We'd better get home," Lois told her son. She motioned to the office. "Go and grab your backpack, okay? Daddy's coming in a second."

Jason bolted towards the office and didn't look back. Clark watched him leave, internally flinching at the word "Daddy." At least he was Mr. Clark. That is, if Jason ever spoke to him again.

"Sorry about him bothering you," Lois apologized, fiddling with a pen in her hands. "He gets a little hyper."

"It's no trouble at all. He's a great kid, Lois," Clark said truthfully. "Smart, too."

"Well, gosh, thanks," she said, lightly teasing his choice of exclamations. "Yeah…he's a lot like his father, too," she said, smiling distantly. Of course, she had no idea that she wasn't the only one in the room that knew why she was distant; she had no idea that the Man of Steel himself was standing right there in all of his corporate glory.

"Yeah, he does look a lot like Richard," Clark forced out, the words feeling like acid.

Lois nodded. "Yeah." After a moment, she perked up and said, "Uh, I…I realize that we never got to catch up with all of this nonsense. I mean, you've been gone for three years—"

"Five years," Clark corrected amiably.

Her eyebrows raised. "Really? Oh, that's right! I forgot, you weren't around when Jason was born. Wow, time's really flown," she reflected, still clickety-clacking the pen in her hand. She shook her head. "I've been a jerk, Clark. I mean, you were my partner for a long time and…"

Clark cut her off. "I understand completely, Lois. Besides, I was all over the world, I would have been hard to track down. And it _has _been pretty crazy since I first got back. It's not your fault at all."

"No—no, it is," she countered, defending her argument. "It's just…with Superman…"

Clark cleared his throat.

A smile played on Lois' lips. "You're not still jealous of him, are you?" she laughed, bringing back an old joke from their old partnership days.

Clark laughed, too, but mostly at the irony. She had remembered, though, as small and insignificant as the joke was. She'd remembered.

"Nah, I'm over that now," he played along.

"Good. Because I doubt Superman could ever type up great articles as fast as you could."

"Of course not," Clark joked. He realized that this was the longest conversation he'd had with…well, _anyone_ since he'd gotten back. It felt like high school again, the only days close to normalcy that he ever had.

"So, I was wondering if we could go out to lunch tomorrow and catch up," Lois invited awkwardly. "There's this really nice place out on the water, it's only a couple of miles from here…"

"I'd love to, Lois," Clark agreed. "And you can tell me all about Jason and Richard." He managed not to stutter at the mention of her fiancé's name and mentally congratulated himself.

"Mommy, I'm ready," said Jason, a Superman-themed backpack draped over his shoulder. Clark tried to read his expression to determine how everything was affecting him, but all he could see was that he'd thoroughly bewildered the kid. Jason's eyes were still wide to a point where they looked slightly pained, but Lois didn't seem to notice, grabbing his hand.

"Good, honey. Is Daddy coming?"

"Yup." Jason pointed to Richard, who was engaged in a conversation with Perry. "In a sec, he said."

"Alright. Sit tight, honey, I'm going to ask Jimmy if he has any photos…"

Clark stiffened, he and Jason suddenly alone. "You…uh…want the drawing? Is it yours?"

Jason nodded. "Yeah, I drew it. But I gave it to Superman. You have to believe me," he said, his eyes tearing up. "Did he lose it?"

"You gave it to Superman?" Clark asked, his heart breaking. How could he lie to Jason, his _son_? Jason had a right to know. He could trust Jason, he was pretty smart for a little kid. And it was clearly upsetting him to think that Superman didn't have his prized drawing.

Clark silently cursed his lack of living space. Inconspicuously living from a briefcase and the storage room meant that there wasn't a place to put the picture for safe-keeping. Still, Jason would have to find out sooner or later. He'd have questions. Clark—no, Superman—had the answers.

"Yeah," Jason sniffled, picking the picture up off the ground. "Maybe it fell out of his pocket."

Scanning the office area, Clark saw Lois clearly busy with Jimmy. No one in the vicinity was watching them, all absorbed with their business. Deadlines, promotions, news filtering through…it all seemed so minimal now. Clark knew that whatever he did now would affect the rest of his life. A pivotal moment in the history of Superman, and these people, all of them provided with a view of a monumental memory that they'd never know of. He took a deep breath and reached for the thick lenses that had cut him off from the rest of the world since he'd left college.

"Jason." His voice was stern, no longer the voice of the normally perky Clark Kent. It was the voice he only used when he was serious, or…when he was Superman.

"W-what?" Jason swiped at his eyes, eliminating the tears.

"I'm sorry," Clark whispered, removing the glasses. "I just don't want you to get hurt."


	3. The Suitcase

Okey-dokey, everyone, here's the next chappie!

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The Suitcase

Jason's eyes widened, tears eliminated and replaced with metallic blue shock. "Mr. Clark…" he muttered to himself, his voice barely audible in the din of the office. "Mr. Clark, you're—?"

Clark nodded. "I trust you, Jason. That means you can't tell anybody, okay?"

Jason wordlessly took the glasses out of Clark's hands, peering into the lenses. "Your big glasses…" he trailed off, looking back at Clark's face in utter disbelief. "You're Superman."

"I am," Clark confirmed, sitting down on the chair in his cubicle to look inconspicuous in his moment of vulnerability. Then, in a way that seemed so natural he hardly noticed it, he gently lifted up Jason's chin until their eyes met. "You're a very good friend to me, Jason. But if people know who I am, you might…" He tried to think of an explanation. "People like Lex Luthor might come after you to hurt me. So nobody can ever know."

"Nobody can ever know," Jason repeated dutifully. He saw Lois approaching and stuck the glasses with precision beyond his years. But it only took one glance at Jason's still befuddled face to remember just how young he was. "Can Mommy know?"

His voice broke. "No," he whispered. "Mommy can't know."

"Why?" Jason asked.

"Okay, we're ready, hon. Let's go," Lois said, grabbing Jason's free hand.

Jason didn't move for a second, narrowing his eyes at the glass-clad Clark as if taking a mental snapshot. "Good-bye, Mr. Clark," Jason finally said. "I won't tell anyone."

Clark smiled at him. "I know."

Lois rolled her eyes playfully. "Big secrets, eh?" she laughed, ruffling Jason's hair affectionately.

"Oh, yes," Clark said amiably, chuckling. Hey, he wasn't lying, was he?

"Thanks for playing with him. See you at lunch tomorrow," said Lois, waving as she left the office.

"See you," he called after her, watching Jason's back.

He continued to type late into the afternoon until the sun began to set. He knew that it was only a matter of time until he'd fly out again for another chaotic night saving the world. Funny how being a superhero never came with endorsements—man, would he be set. And able to afford an apartment. He bit his lip. If he was going to avoid looking suspicious, he'd better—

"Kent," Perry called from his office.

Clark checked the time. Three minutes to eight o'clock, when he usually got off and started flying. It would definitely be an inconvenience for Perry to demand an article now…with all the research and typing, he'd be fifteen minutes late, and god only knew what could happen in such a small amount of time.

Wordlessly, Clark rose from his cramped cubicle and walked into Perry's office. "You called me?" he asked, eyes expectant.

Clark gulped when he saw the suitcase in Perry's hands. "I found this in the storage closet," he said, prompting the reporter to reply.

"Oh," Clark said vaguely, feeling himself start to sweat. "I must have forgotten it with my other things."

"That's weird, considering it seems to have all of your clothes, your passport, your Daily Planet identification card and your wallet in it," Perry mused, his eyebrows raised in the younger man's direction.

"Really?" Clark managed. "I guess I…I've been busy lately, I didn't notice."

"How have you been getting in the building, then?"

Clark frowned. "I…"

Perry sighed. "Look, Clark, I won't ask questions, but a word of advice: find a place to live," the editor said, a smile playing on his lips.

"But I—"

Perry heaved the suitcase up and handed it to Clark, who held it with ease. "The only question I will ask is this—why were you missing last week?"

"Well, um, Mr. White, my mother…was a bit rattled by the earthquake and needed my help. I forgot to call. I'm really sorry," he said sincerely.

"Don't forget next time. You're lucky you have your job," Perry warned him.

Clark nodded. "I know. Thank you."

His heart still pounding in his head and his face slightly red from embarrassment, he collected the suitcase, signed out of the office and headed towards the exit. It only occurred to him that he had nowhere to put his belongings halfway into the alley he intended to change in. He stopped for a moment, trying to think, and eventually settled on running back up to the Daily Planet offices and stuffing it in a closet on a different floor.

Then, in the two seconds it took for him to super speed into the alley and strip into his Superman suit, Clark Kent was out into the night.

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"Clark, I'm really sorry, but I'll have to cancel the lunch," Lois said regretfully, coming up to Clark's desk with a guilty expression.

"Oh…" Clark cleared his throat, a bit surprised. He composed himself. "Busy with stories. I understand. Maybe we can reschedule?" he asked.

Lois nodded. "It's just, it turns out—" She shook her head, a bitter grin forming. "I forgot it was Saturday," she admitted to him, resting her hands on his desk and leaning towards him.

Clark laughed. "I don't get it. What's so bad about Saturday?"

"Mommy, I'm bored," Jason complained, pouting. He saw Clark and his face lit up. "Hi, Mr. Clark," he chirped.

"I've got Jason with me," Lois explained. "Rain check?"

"I wouldn't mind if Jason came along. He's a good friend of mine, you know," he said to Lois, a smile on his face.

"Yeah, great friends," Jason agreed, smiling the same smile. Lois did a double-take before lingering on Clark.

"Whoa," she muttered, running a hand through her hair. "What are you two, clones of each other?" she joked.

Clark laughed nervously. "I see more of you in him than anything," he said, careful not to mention Richard. Lois knew about Superman being the father. A flying piano was a little too much to ignore. But Jason was clever. He'd hone his skills as Clark had on the farm.

Now where were they going to get a distant, middle-of-nowhere farm for Jason? Martha Kent might be getting a few visits…He stopped fantasizing and returned to the cramped cubicle in the Daily Planet, his computer poised for typing, the love that could have been staring at him and the son he'd been unaware of for years grinning his sheepish grin.

It was all worth it if Jason was still there. He had Jason's company, if nobody else's.

"Aw, shucks, Smallville. Thanks," she teased. "Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course not," said Clark, waving her off. "In fact, I'm sure it would be a heck of a lot more interesting with crayons and a kid's menu to order off of. I'm getting quite sick of the adult fare myself."

"Good to hear." She thought for a moment. "How does lunch with Clark sound, hon?" she asked him.

"Great!" Jason agreed happily, shaking the plastic snow globe on Clark's desk. "Did you get this while you were traveling?" he asked Clark, the question innocent but his eyes mischievous.

"I did," said Clark. "In…Sweden."

"Sweden?" Lois repeated. "Wow, you really were all over. Sick of Kansas, I presume."

"Nah. Never sick of Kansas. Like Dorothy said, there's no place like home." Clark would have grinned—he'd stopped long enough to remember something about pop culture and make a clever reference to it!—but he figured that going "YES!" really loudly would make him look even dorkier than he already was.

"I'm assuming you're still sending money to your mother, then," said Lois, remembering her first encounter with Clark the day he'd been hired.

He nodded, blushing. "I don't need it." What with no apartment as of yet…He bit his lip, thinking that perhaps a to-do list should be in order.

"I take it you aren't a beer-chips-and-football type," she quipped. Then she checked her watch. "Well, we'd better get going. It's only a few blocks from here. Ready to go?"

"Ready," said Clark, shutting off his documents on the computer.


End file.
